If you haven’t previously taken in the delights of Bombay Bicycle Club then open your ears and let them into your hearts. If you have, be prepared to hear them in a new but equally beautiful light. Zoë Turton enjoys a musical slice of summer.
Bombay Bicycle Club – Flaws
Released: 12/07/2010
The four-piece’s second album release sees them indulging in the simple pleasures of going back to basics and recording the entire album acoustically. As their following grows (having a track on the Eclipse – Twilight Saga soundtrack certainly didn’t do them any harm) and more people are drawn in by front man Jack Steadman’s eccentric vocals and the jerky indie guitar joy of their debut ‘I had the blues but I shook them loose’, it is quite a brave avenue for the melody makers to journey down. But we can only be thankful they decided to take this route.
‘Flaws’ is sweet and beautiful and in parts heartbreaking, as shown on track ‘Leaving Blues’, which is lyrically as mesmerising as anything the debut had to offer, just more simple and subtle in its delivery. For this reason it doesn’t feel like a selection of acoustic b-sides they just plucked and stuck together to keep fans occupied till their next ‘real’ release. It feels like every song has been crafted with care. Now maybe all that fuss being directed in the way of twee, jolly men Mumford and Sons may need to be shifted to the these boys and the joyful sounds they are making.
At certain intervals fans may yearn for the amps to be plugged in but releasing an acoustic album has certainly done Bombay Bicycle Club no harm. They have managed to capture their best qualities acoustically and have created something truly sublime for the summertime.
By Zoë Turton
Tags: bombay bicycle club, flaws
